Believe
by OutlastTheDark
Summary: In a small out of the way cabin, far in the mountains of Remnant, a group of friends gathered together to celebrate the holidays. However, one young woman has one regret, a regret that haunts her every Christmas. A regret that may only be solved by a knight of darkness. (Takes place within the Broken Wings AU!)
1. Chapter 1: Tales of Family Past

**Hey people! Here's the first of three parts for the Broken Wings Christmas special! Hopefully I'll have all three chapters out by Christmas day, but if not I'll just get them out ASAP. Expect them out by Christmas though! Oh and just a little note, this takes place during this year (aka before the Legion invasion), since Broken Wings is still currently taking place in the late fall season. So while this is considered to be in the future, it's not crazy far. Okay, I'm rambling again! Enjoy!**

* * *

Christmas Special Part 1: Tales of Family Past

* * *

It was a quiet snowy night in a remote part of patch. In a small secluded part of the mountains, a small rustic cabin sat, surrounded by a sea of evergreen trees that were covered in a thick layer of snow, as was the ground they towered over.

Even the cabin was completely covered in a blanket of the frozen water. It would have seemed completely abandoned if there had not been a bright light streaming from the windows, like a single lighthouse in a sea of white.

Inside of that little cabin nestled in the heart of the great forest, two young woman stood, fussing over the appearance of a third, who sat on a small stood, worry dancing in her silver eyes.

"I don't know Yang... What if he thinks I look _stupid..."_ Ruby complained to Yang as she sat in front of a small mirror that sat in the living room of the cabin, who was happily helping Ruby into some sort of fancy dress that the elder sister had insisted Ruby wear.

The two had gone shopping the other day and Yang had spotted the dress in the back of the store, and quickly bought it for Ruby, knowing that her sister would otherwise just wear her normal combat skirt.

"Oh come on Rubes! You look _great_!" Yang said with a broad smile as she pulled herself to her feet, laying her hand on her sister's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah, he won't even be able to focus on decorating." Weiss, who was working on Ruby's hair, said as she ran a brush through the young reaper's hair, attempting to pull out the knots.

"You think?" Ruby asked hopeful.

"Yeah! Maybe once we get some eggnog in him he'll get into the _Christmas mood_ when he sees you." Yang said as she leaned down with a suggestive grin, jabbing her younger sister in the side.

"Huh?"

"Oh. Nothing." Yang chuckled, her voice low but humored.

 _"O-oh_ okay." Ruby stuttered before growing silent, watching her reflection in the mirror as Weiss continued to manipulate her relatively short black and red locks. It was a task and a half to make Ruby's hair do anything other than flop about; but if anyone could do it, it was Weiss.

"Hey speaking of Wrynn, where is he? Wrath said they'd all be here by now." Weiss said, glancing out of a small window not too far away where Blake, wrapped tightly in one of Wrath's cloaks, was waiting at a bench watching over a small Scourgestone so wouldn't be stolen by a bear or squirrel.

"I'm sure they'll all be here soon." Yang reasoned as she finally backed away from the two of her friends, opting instead to stroll over to the fireplace, where a small blaze burned brightly. "Knowing those three they're probably just tied up with something."

"Yeah, probably." Ruby smiled.

* * *

"Stop struggling Anduin!" Wrath ordered as he slammed the prince against the wall, attempting to daze the young man, only to succeed in smashing the vase that Anduin impacted.

"No! Let me _GO!"_ Anduin was putting up one hell of a fight, especially for a prince. "Make Varimas do it!"

"Oh quit your whining!" Wrath attempted to sweep Anduin's legs out from under him, only to end up dodging a kick at the last moment.

"Get _off_ of me!" Anduin exclaimed once more, shaking his entire body back and forth as he attempted to fight off the clearly stronger knight who had now pinned the prince's arms against his sides, rendering them useless.

"Var, get his legs!" Wrath said as he turned his attention to his Warlock friend, who was cautiously approaching the scene, his hands held up near his mask covered face, wary of receiving a foot to the head.

"I'm _trying_! We've got ourselves a kicker!" He exclaimed, attempting to reach out to Anduin, only to have his hand swatted away by one of the prince's feet.

"Wrath stop! Are you even aware that you're kidnapping the crown prince of the Alliance?!"

 _"Yes;_ now are you going to stop struggling or am I going to have to _tie you up?!"_ Wrath asked, baring his teeth at the younger man like an angry wolf. They were already late, and Anduin's struggling only delayed them further.

Anduin's only response was to jam his elbow into the Death Knight's stomach, ducking out of Wrath's grasp and pushing Varimas to the ground before making a break for the doorway, only to get Death Gripped back into Wrath's waiting arms.

He began tying him up a moment later. "Hard way it is then."

As Wrath bound Anduin hands behind his back, Varimas stuck a linen bag over his head, before the two of them dragged him out of the room. Eventually they found themselves in the throne room where Varian, Vol'jin, and several guards all watched in astonishment as Wrath and Varimas dragged the young prince through.

Not one guard moved however.

Vol'jin was absolutely stunned upon noticing the guards and even King Varian doing nothing to save Anduin. Were they completely unaware of who was half stuffed into that sack?

"Hey Varian!" Wrath called with a cheesy smile waving to the High King with one hand as he began to cast a death gate with the other hand, the dark doorway beginning to take form almost immediately. Varimas meanwhile dragged the bagged Anduin over to the portal.

Varian could only sigh at the sight before him. "...Can he breath in there?"

"Father help me!" The sacked Anduin cried out as he attempted to struggle against the ropes, small rays of Light flying from his fingers in an attempt to burn the chord.

"Yeah he can breath. Cut little holes for his nose." Varimas said, pointing to his own nose as if to make a point, eventually earning a small nod from the king, and a stare of disbelief from the Warchief.

"Very well. Just... _Carry on_." Varian sighed, jabbing a single finger towards the portal.

" _What?! Father! Help me!"_ The bagged Anduin begged, before crying out in panic as Wrath slung the captured prince over his shoulder like a trophy, ready to be transported to a taxidermic facility.

"In ya go!" Wrath laughed happily as he flung Anduin into the death gate and jumped in almost immediately afterwards, followed soon by Varimas, who gave the other occupants of the room a salute, falling into the portal backwards.

"Uh... Ya do realize dat was ya son in dere right?" Vol'Jin asked, turning to face King Varian, who wore the face of man who seemed as if he had been through such an experience before.

"Yes, I do... We've found it pointless to try to stop Wrath. He always brings him back, usually no worse for wear." Varian explained as he reached for the rather large stein of beer that lay next to him; a gift from one of the dwarves diplomats visiting during the peace negotiations.

"An' ya call da Horde strange?" Vol'jin said with a tuskey smile.

Varian could only chuckle.

* * *

Blake let a small smile cross her face as the crystal in her hand suddenly began to glow a bright purple shine. She eagerly tossed the crystal necklace to the wooden deck and watched as the gate formed before her, ready to embrace Wrath the moment he came through...

Only to jump back in surprise when Anduin's bagged and bound body flew out of the portal, followed by a smiling Wrath and Varimas, the later of which gave Blake a small wave, as his smile was still hidden by his felfume mask.

"Uh... Hey there guys." Blake greeted awkwardly, her eyes dancing with confusion, though that look quickly changed to one of contentment when Wrath's arms found their way around her shoulders, wrapping her in an embrace much softer than that of the one he had Anduin in a few minutes before.

"Hey Blake!" Varimas greeted as he placed his foot atop Anduin's back like a hunter posing with his most recent kill, much as Wrath had back in the throne room, just with his foot instead of his arm.

"Oh god they're insane! Someone save me!" Anduin begged as he attempted to flail around, only to receive a small kick in the base of the spine from Varimas, who grinned when the young prince let out a curse.

With a chuckle, the Warlock kneeled down, his mask only a foot from Anduin's face. "How many times have you said 'save me' now? Last time I checked we kidnapped a prince, not a princess."

"What was that?!" Anduin growled as he showed his teeth to Varimas who merely gave him a snort in response.

"You heard me."

"You three are ridiculous." Blake laughed as she finally broke away from the embrace that she and Wrath shared, walking over to Anduin, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Perhaps I would be calmer if I weren't being carted off to calm Yang down!" Anduin cried, desperation clear on his face. This confused Blake rather quickly, what was Anduin talking about? Yang was fine.

"Wait what?"

"Oh... Uh... I told him that Yang was throwing a fit." Wrath said as he glanced over at Blake, rubbing the back of his head with a wide grin plastered on his face. "We told him that she was on a rampage and that we needed him to sedate her."

"Why would you do that?" Blake asked as she crossed her arms across her chest, though she was obviously less than annoyed. In fact she had a rather amused expression on her face, though she clearly was attempting to suppress it in order to save Anduin's dignity from further damage.

Wrath merely shrugged. "Mostly for fun."

"So then where are we?" Anduin asked, finally calmed down now that he knew that he was no longer a lamb headed for the slaughter. "Why're we here?"

"Oh we're in Ruby and Yang's father's summer cabin." Blake answered, glancing back at the old rustic cabin. "He agreed to let us use it for Christmas."

"What's Christmas?" Anduin asked.

"Our version of Winter Veil. It's essentially still the same holiday." Blake looked over at Wrath as she jabbed her thumb in the direction of the entrance of the cabin. "Should we head in? I'm sure Ruby is probably dying to see Anduin."

 _"R-Ruby_ is here?!" Anduin cried as he suddenly began to struggle once more with renewed vigor.

"Oohh, and the nerves are back!" Wrath laughed as he lifted Anduin up and began to drag him into the cabin, chuckling when Anduin began to wimped in desperation.

* * *

"Wait at least let me get ready!" Anduin cried as Wrath threw him down onto the soft carpet inside of the old cabin, landing only a few feet away from a currently bare Christmas tree. "I wasn't expecting to see-..."

"Anduin?..." A voice rang out, causing the prince to glance up to see a sight he would not soon forget. There was Ruby, standing not in her usual combat skirt but in a majestic ruby red dress that hugged what little figure she possessed, though her eyes still held their usual awkwardly cute shine.

"R-... Ruby! Hi! I... Uh..." Anduin stuttered out, a deep blush coating his face a deep crimson color, before he shook his head frantically in a desperate attempt to regain his composure. After a few moments he glanced back over to the reaper, giving her a genuine smile. "You look great..."

"Thanks..." Ruby whispered as a blush of her own crossed her face, but just as quickly began to laugh, covering her face with her arm. "You do too. The rope really brings out your eyes."

A few curse words and some quick orders from Anduin later, Varimas was on the ground, attempting to untie the blonde haired prince.

"Dang Wrath! You tied these really tight!" Varimas laughed as he futilely attempted to free Anduin from his bonds, only truly succeeding in tightening them further around the monarch's wrists.

"Yeah, sorry about that... There's a little bit here, just pull that and-..." Wrath said as he knelt next to the two, taking hold of a small loop of the rope, giving it a pull. This caused the binding to fall apart in nearly an instant, the rope falling next to Anduin in a small pile. "It comes undone! There!"

"Where'd you even learn to do that?" Yang asked as she picked up the rope, though she never redirected her gaze from the Death Knight as he shrugged in what appeared to an almost nonchalant manner.

"The Scourge. I was taught how to bind a persons arms and legs in such a way that they wouldn't be able to escape, even if they decided to try to wriggle out of the ropes during torture."

"Ohhh..."

"Hey _Uh_... Can I see that rope?" Blake suddenly piped up as she shuffled over, holding her arms out towards her blonde and green haired teammate.

"What? How come?"

"I'm just... Going to go throw it out." Blake said with a nervous grin as she held out her hands expectantly, all while Yang narrowed her eyes at the faunus, who's face reddened in response.

 _"Uh huh."_ Yang deadpanned as she handed Blake the coil of rope which the black haired ninja hid behind her back before quickly scampering off in the direction of the hallways where the bedrooms were located. Yang rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Perverted cat."

Blake was back a few moments later, a giddy look in her eyes, though she did her very best to hide it.

"So... I guess we should start decorating before team JNPR shows up." Ruby said, finally breaking up the awkward silence that had settled over the group. "We don't want _Nora_ decorating. Especially after what happened at Beacon last year."

"Good point... _Alright!"_ Ruby exclaimed, raising a single finger into the air proudly. "Yang, Weiss, can you two handle the tree?"

"You got it sis!" Yang replied with a thumbs up before she grabbed the heiress by the arm, dragging the protesting girl over to the bare Christmas tree. They were both on the task in a matter of moments.

"Okay, Anduin, Var, and I can get the other stuff inside the house..." Ruby listed off as she pointed to Varimas, causing the Warlock to smile at the short girl. She practically looked like a child, yet seemed to have the leadership skills of the bat of Azeroth's generals.

"On it." Varimas said, dragging Anduin over to the decorations.

"So I guess that leaves us to decorate the outside?" Blake asked, prompting Ruby to glance over at her, guilt plain on her face.

"Would you mind?..." Ruby asked softly as she began to fidget awkwardly with her hands. "Sorry, I know it's cold and all-..."

"It's fine. Wrath doesn't feel the cold, and I can just keep this cloak on." Blake said with a calm smile, eliciting a smile from the younger huntress in response, though Ruby's was much fuller.

"Alright _, awesome!"_

"C'mon Wrath." Blake said, pulling Wrath out of the warmth of the small cabin and into the snowy forests outside.

* * *

"So... This is what Christmas is like huh?" Wrath said as he carefully attempted to hang up a large string of lights atop the roof on which he kneeled, glancing down at the hooded faunus who stood watching from the ground below.

"What?"

"Nothing; I'm just surprised how similar it is to Winter's Veil. Even the story of great father winter." Wrath explained, turning his attention back to the string of lights in his hands. The string of lights he wanted to chuck into a lake. "You called him something different though right?"

"Santa." Blake replied with a warm grin as she watched the elven knight struggle in his attempts to neatly hang the lights up along the frame of the house. "I used to write to him all the time when I was still a child, even when it wasn't Christmas time."

"What made you stop? Grow too old?" Wrath asked. It was an innocent question. One so innocent in fact, he actually stopped what he was doing when he realized he was not getting an answer from the ninja. She stood there in the snow, suddenly much quieter than before. "Blake?"

"N-... No... When I joined the White Fang, I was told to never send out letters to outsiders. They were really paranoid about security." Blake explained with a sigh "I tried to mail my mother once, to ask her if Santa could bring me home..."

"They caught you didn't they?" Wrath asked, jumping down from the low roof, landing in the soft snow with a thump, the weight of his plate boots causing a small cloud of snow to fly up around his impact.

"Mhm. That was the last time I mailed Santa... Or my mother..."

"Wait, so you haven't seen her since you joined the White Fang as a child? No contact at all?" Wrath asked, clearly surprised at this. Sure, he barely kept contact with his family anymore either but his situation was much different. Right?

Blake shook her head sadly, confirming Wrath's question before she even opened her mouth again. "No... I don't know if I could face her after being a member of the White Fang..."

"Blake; she's your Mother." Wrath pressed, sighing when Blake glanced down to the wooden floor of the cabin porch. For a moment he thought to back off, but he just had to say one last thing. "She would never hate you for taking a stand for what you believe in."

"Maybe... Maybe not..." Blake finally muttered, letting her shoulders slump ever so slightly. "All I know is that she would be so... Disappointed in the choices I made while I was with the White Fang..."

Wrath nodded silently seemingly accepting Blake's answer, though he clearly did not. Blake chose to ignore this however, choosing instead to pull the hood further over her eyes.

"So out of curiosity, where Did you and your mother live?" Wrath finally asked after nearly a full minute of silence, seemingly just to switch topics, which seemed to work wonders as Blake visibly brightened.

"Oh it was just a small faunus run town outside of the major kingdoms... A little south of Vale. A lot of faunus would make their homes there to live free from prejudice. It was tough defending against the Grimm sometimes, but we all managed." Blake said, wrapping her arms around herself, the motion hidden by Wrath's cloak. "I wish I had stayed sometimes. At least than I would still know my mother was alright."

"Blake..." Wrath trailed off unsure of what to say to his girlfriend. However Blake only gave him a warm smile, walking over to press her cloaked body against the plate covered chest of the elf.

"It's in the past... There's nothing I can do now." She whispered, letting her eyes shut slowly as Wrath's arms wrapped around her shoulders. Then he said something that stopped her breath short for a moment.

"Isn't there?..."

It was silent for quite a while after that, neither one spoke as the snow fell around them, slowly building up around the two of them as they stood, with Blake occasionally stealing a glance at the unfinished decorations that covered only half the snow covered roof.

"It's getting really cold out, I'm going to go in alright?..." Blake muttered quietly before placing a soft kiss Wrath's cheek, letting her lips linger for a moment before pulling away from the Death Knight, backing away towards the cabin. "Come in when you're finished okay?"

"Alright... Go ahead. I'll probably only be out here for a few more hours." Wrath said with a smile, retrieving a small ball of lights from the snow, brushing off the frozen water from the lights.

With that, Blake nodded, entering the cabin without another word, the wooden door emanating a loud clap when it snapped shut behind the feline faunus.

"Yeah... I'll come back in... But only when I'm finished..." Wrath muttered before he pulled his hood over his head, trudging though the snow towards the stables, where his loyal frostwyrm rested...

* * *

 **And that's chapter 1! I really hope that you all enjoyed it! I'm sorry about the rope joke, but I just felt like there was no better time to poke at that part of Blake's character. The next chapter should be out soon enough, and I promise to do my best to get all 3 chapters out by Christmas day! Alright! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Tales of Family Present

**Hey! Not much to say! The third part will be out when I wake up in the morning! Merry Christmas Eve!**

 **TehUnoman; That's probably the single best way I've ever heard someone describe Wrath. And in only two words. It'll be a short story so there won't exactly be any crazy twists. Just a... (psychotic) Christmas special!**

 **Raging Archon; Don't worry, everything will work out there. What skit is that? I have an idea for a one-shot based on a machinima they did, but it wasn't in here.**

 **Enjoy! Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Christmas Special Part 2: Tales of Family Present

* * *

As Blake stared into the flickering flames of the fireplace, her amber eyes watching the sparks sail into the chimney, she just could not help but to think. To thinking about what Wrath had said to her.

It had been years since she had any contact with any of the people from her home village, so far out in the wilderness. Going home now, to reveal herself to her mother and her neighbors and friends who cared for her so much as a child, to face them now as an adult who had made some poor choices... It would be impossible.

"Hey... It's been almost 2 hours since you came in Blake, shouldn't Wrath be in by now?" Weiss' concerned voice brought Blake out of the trance-like state that she had set herself in, her attention snapping towards the heiress in but a moment.

"He's not in?" Blake asked pulling herself from her kneeling position near the fireplace, her face immediately covering itself in concern. Had it really been that long? Sure, Wrath was having a few issues but it should not be taking him this long.

"No, you're the last person who's come through that door." Weiss replied, motioning towards the door. As she was about to turn back to ask Blake if they had extra decorations that he may have found she suddenly lost her breath as a blur shit by her, flying out of the door.

As Blake stepped outside, she immediately began to scan the darkness of the night, hoping to find him still on the roof or among the trees, possibly setting up some extra lights. Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach when she realized that only was the knight not around; it was as if he had vanished hours ago.

The snowfall had covered every track he could have possibly made.

"Wrath?" Blake called out, half hoping to receive an answer in return. Part of her knew that would not be happening however, but she was not about to just walk back in the cabin and forget this was happening. "Wrath?!"

"Blake? Where is he?!" Varimas asked as he trudged out into the snow, almost having to lift up his felfume robes around his knees upon realizing just how deep that the snow was beginning to grow. Soon they would be completely snowed in, if they were not already.

"I-... I don't know... He's... _Gone..."_ Blake whispered, snapping her head in every direction that he heard a distinct sound, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Death Knight, though each and every time she saw only the forest that surrounded them.

"Oh no..." Varimas muttered, seemingly finally understand just what was taking place, as he let a gloved hand impact his metal mask with a small pinging sound that echoed throughout the empty forest like a bell.

"What? What's wrong?"

Varimas provided Blake with no answer. Instead he turned and slowly trudged through the snow over to the stables, where he and Wrath were keeping their mounts for emergency purposes.

True to his suspicions, Varimas turned the corner to find that only his onyx nether wing drake, Onyxien lay there asleep. Frostblight, Wrath's loyal frostwyrm was absolutely nowhere to be found. He was missing as well.

"I was afraid of this..." Varimas muttered as Blake ran over from behind him, the concerned expression on her face only deepening when she saw Varimas' shoulders fall slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Wrath has... ' _Issues_ ' with Winter Veil..." Varimas trailed off, not entirely sure how he could explain the situation.

 _"Issues?"_

"...Wrath hasn't celebrated Winter Veil since he became a Death Knight." Varimas explained, sitting on an old pile of hay that was still relatively stable. "He felt that it wasn't worth celebrating without his family..."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, planting herself on the hay next to Varimas, wrapping her cloak tighter around herself as she felt a chilly breeze rush through the old stables.

"He and his family don't speak..."

"Really? How come? Doesn't he ever miss them?" Blake asked with a small sigh. Hadn't Wrath just reprimanded her for just this?

"Oh he does... He would have gone home if he had been given the option but..." Varimas explained, looking over at his sleeping mount. "They disowned him when they learned that he had become a Death Knight. He's tried to return home multiple times... Each has ended with either his own father or brother attacking him."

 _"...Oh..."_

"I wouldn't worry too much though..." Varimas said, laying a gloved hand on Blake's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before pulling himself to his feet. "I'm sure he's probably just... I'm... He'll _be back_..."

"I hope so..."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a small town just outside the protective walls of Vale, a small gang of men approached a small clearing that sat in the middle of a large collection of little cottages, all wielding weapons of different shapes and sizes, none of good quality. They were dressed in what equated to little more than throw together outfits with various pieces of armor.

Even so, the towns people, every single one of which were faun us, who surrounded them backed away slightly in fear.

"Alright freaks, you know the drill! Lien in the bag! Make it snappy, we don't have all night!" The apparent leader of the group, a tall man with dirty blonde hair, ordered as one of the other thugs stuck a bag forward towards the crowd.

"Wait.. Please..." An elderly faunus man muttered as he stepped forwards, pulling himself along by his les sthan stable looking walking stick. "It's Christmas Eve... Can't you just leave us alone?... Just for tonight?..."

"He's right Marki. It IS Christmas after all. Maybe we should give them all a Christmas surprise." One of the henchmen said as the head thug gave a low chuckle, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Alright." The leader conceded with a shrug, giving the group of villagers a small sarcastic smile, twirling the sword in his hand. "Then I guess we should just-.."

The leader cut himself off, letting out a small battle cry as he charged the old man who stood before him, driving his blade into the man's stomach, causing the man to cough up blood onto the chest plate of the head thug, staining his armor red.

"Surprise!" The leader yelled as he pushed the dying old man to the ground, laughing as his body began to suffer from muscle spasms, his arms and legs flopping uselessly as he stared up into the night sky with blank eyes.

" _NO! Elder!"_ A cat eared woman with black hair cried as she ran to the crumpled form of the old man, pressing her hand against the mans bleeding stomach. Taking in a breath, the woman cursed loudly and glared up at the attackers. "How _could_ you?!"

"Woo boy! That sure put _him_ in the Christmas spirit!" The leader of the thugs said laughing before his face grew serious once more. "Now put your goddamn lien in the bag before one of your kids gets some _'Christmas spirit'_ too!"

The citizens quickly begin digging through their pockets, desperate to escape the situation as fast as they could, only to hesitate when a small voice echoed throughout the town center.

"No!" A small boy from the crowd yelled, pushing forwards from between the throngs of people to face the thugs that stood before him, leering at the child. "You're evil! You don't deser-..."

"What was that kid?!" The man yelled as he seized the child by the neck, lifting him off the ground as his legs dangled uselessly, attempting to find purchase in the air, to no avail.

Meanwhile, in a large tree that sat in the middle of the town square, only a few dozen meters from the mugging taking place place, a long figure in a black hood stood motionless, watching the events unfold before him.

After just a few seconds of scanning the crowd the man focused on the woman who was holding the wound of the old man. A moment later, the woman stood, giving the hooded man a better view of her.

Black hair? Check. Cat ears? Check.

Then without warning, the woman sprang forwards towards the man holding the boy and slammed her open palm against his cheek, causing the man to stumble back, dropping the boy to the ground in the process.

Apparent tendency to put herself in dangerous situations to protect others... Check. That was her.

" _Ohhh..._ You shouldn't have done that bitch..." The thug leader growled for but a moment before his hand shot out, backhanding her with such force that it caused her to fall to the ground with a grunt of pain. As she attempted to pull herself to her feet, the man tackled her back down, straddling her as he pulled another long knife from his belt.

He raised his dagger without even uttering another word, the blade glinting brightly in the moonlight of the night. A sick smile crossed his face before he began to laugh manically. He was going to kill her. Stab her in the throat and make her bleed.

That is, he would have if a runeblade had not intercepted his strike, chopping off the mans hand, sending the severed limb into the air, where it landed a few feet away, the muscles still twitching.

" **AAAARRRRGHhhh** -..." His voice faded as the same blade entered his chest from behind, shakily looking down at the glowing blade that protruded from the spot in his chest where his heart once rested.

He fell over in a heap without another word, his last breath taken as he slammed against the cobblestone, which were slowly dyed red as blood from the man's wound began to pool around him.

 _"...M...Marki?..."_

The hooded man turned his gaze from the fallen thug to the other two assailants, causing the other thugs to back away in fear.

"You... _You_... You _killed_ him... You really _just_..." One thug struggled out in disbelief, looking down at his leader, before a sudden rage overcame him, urging him to draw his own blade. He did just that, and glanced over to his remaining comrade. "Fucking kill this guy!"

The two remaining thugs charged the hooded man with a battle cry, which was cut short when a hand of dark energy suddenly grabbed one of the men, throwing him off to the side, into a storefront window.

Just as the other thug reached the man however, just as he thought he would land a hit, his charge was suddenly cut short as the hooded man chuckled darkly before slamming his rune blade against the thugs blade, shattering it.

The thug was sent to the ground from the blow, but this was not enough to kill him, as evidenced by the man attempting to back away from the hooded man by crawling, only for that same man to just walk up, before pressing his boot against the thug's neck

"Pl... Please... _No..."_ The man wheezed.

The shifting of the hooded man's boot, along with a loud snapping noise made the crowd gasp in horror and the few remaining children to embrace their parents in fear as they all collectively realized what had just occurred.

A moment later a crash was heard as the last man, who had been thrown into the shop desperately attempted to sneak away from the scene. Before he could even get out of the shop however a hand of dark energy ripped him from the ground, slamming him on the pavement in front of the hooded man before chains of ice begin to form up around his body as he cried out in panic.

"Stop! Please! _I don't wanna die!-..."_

Then the hooded man, face without emotion, began stabbing him repeatedly, jamming the sword into his arms, legs, and chest over and over as one would in order to drive a steak into the ground, pulling out slowly each time in order to let the blood drip on the man's face.

However he was dead by the third stab wound.

Seemingly satisfied with the results of his attack, the hooded man turned his gaze over to the crowd, only to see them shrink away when his eyes made contact with their own.

"Who... Who are you?..." The cat eared woman finally asked, stepping forwards towards the man, causing him to glance over at her, a small smile etched on his face.

"...I'm looking for someone..." The hooded man muttered, letting a small plant from the pouch attached to his belt fall to the ground. A belladonna flower. "I'm looking for _Belladonna."_

* * *

 **Final chapter will be out when I wake up tomorrow! Night! Merry Christmas Eve!**


	3. Chapter 3: Tales of Family Future

**Hey everyone! This is the finale of the Christmas Special! Hope you all enjoyed it! I'll be back to my normal writing schedule after the New Year, I promise! Until then, Happy Holidays!**

 **Raging Archon; Yeah that's kinda what happens when you write a fight scene while watching a marathon of some random violent show. Still though, it's entertaining to write about Wrath beating the eggs off of people.**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

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Christmas Special Part 3: Tales of Family Future.

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" _AAAAHHHH!_ IT'S THE NEW X-900 HIGH POWER VARIABLE ZOOM DUST SCOPE! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, TH _ANK YOU_!" Ruby, who was now dressed back in her usual pajamas, squealed as she clutched the box close to her body, her smile almost overtaking the rest of her face all while Anduin laughed from his seat beside her.

"I'm glad you like it Ruby!" Pyrrha laughed as she watched the reaper read the specs on the back of the box. "It's a combined gift to you from Jaune and I. We figured this would be much better than just a few tees or a DVD or something-... Ruby?"

Ruby was literally drooling onto the couch she had planted herself on.

"Oh don't worry! That means she likes it!" Yang laughed, causing Pyrrha to chuckle along as well. Eventually though Yang glanced over to see Ruby had not even moved. "Ehh... She might be like that for a while. Who wants to go next?"

"Ooh! Ooh! Ren and I next!" Nora exclaimed as she made a charge for the tree, snatching a large bag from the far corner, tossing one gift to each person in the room, each beginning to unwrap the moment the gift hit their hands.

Weiss was the last person to catch her gift, though just before she began unwrapping she noticed that there had been no name tag on her gift. No markings to distinct it from the others. How did she even know which present to give to who?

"Nora you never even looked at the-..." Weiss cut herself off when she glanced around the room to see that everyone was holdong the identical object in their hands. They had all turned out to be bottles of easy mix pancake batter. "Never mind."

"Ooh, thanks Nora! I guess we have breakfast settled!" Varimas exclaimed, collecting each of the bottles from everyone, creating a neat pile in the corner for later. He would only eat a bit, but knowing the appetite of these huntmen and huntresses, and Anduin, he would probably end up using every single bottle Nora had 'supplied'.

"Alright, I suppose I should go next." Weiss said, pulling herself to her feet and brushing off her nightdress. She made her way over to the tree at a brisk pace, pulling out a large bag of her own, which was filled to the brim with presents that seemed as if they had been wrapped and labels by a professional.

She handed out each one of the presents methodically, careful to not pull a Nora. Once they were all handed out she threw the bag to the side, finding her seat once more as she watched her friends unwrap their presents.

She grinned proudly to herself as everyone ripped open the wrapping paper with a vengeance, every single one turning out to be special edition rare dust bottle packs. It was worth being able to call in a favor or two.

"Ohh my god! These dust packs had to be worth... I cant even imagine! Thanks Weiss!" Yang exclaimed, excitedly looking through the contents if the bag with a massive smile on her face. She could make so many different shells were these!

"My pleasure."

Pyrrha gave a warm smile as she watched her friends. However once she glanced over to the fireplace she noticed none other than Blake, her back turned towards the group. "Hey Blake, why don't you come over here? All your presents are still under the tree!"

"I don't want them."

"What? You don't?" Pyrrha asked, the smile on her face fading slowly as what Blake said sunk in.

"What's wrong Blake?" Jaune asked, pulling himself to his feet before making his way over to his black haired companion, laying a hand on her shoulder, only to have her flinch away from his touch.

"Oh Uh... Wrath kinda... _Disappeared_ on us last night." Yang explained, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly as she glanced over to her faunus teammate. "We were planning on searching for him after you guys arrived."

"I don't think there will be a need for that." Varimas said with a laugh, leaning back in his chair as he gazed out of the window into the snowy landscape that lay just beyond the frost covered window.

"Why wouldn't I?" Blake asked, doing little to hide the venom in her voice as she considered all of the different places Wrath could have possibly run off to, and how long it would take to get there to beat the mistletoe out of him.

Varimas only responded by pointing out of the window where a large undead frostwyrm was making a landing, the force of the landing sending a small coating of snow against the window, obscuring the view of those inside.

What they could make out however was Wrath hopping off of Frostblight before turning back to the dragon and helping a lithe hooded woman down from the dragon's saddle

"Hey, who's _that_?" Ruby, who had finally stopped salivating over her new scope, asked as she pressed her face against the cold glass in an attempt to get a better view of the woman. Never thinking to use the scope in her hand. "I can't see... There's too much snow in the way!"

"Not sure... I'm going to go and see where he was last night. Stay here you guys." Varimas said as he pulled himself to his feet, padding out of the room, his slippers thumping against the hard wooden floor.

Wrath and the woman were out of sight of those looking through the window but a moment later, at which point the room exploded into speculation as to the identity of the mysterious visitor.

"Huh... Maybe Wrath's a _hussy_!" Nora proclaimed with fire in her voice, silencing herself when she heard the grinding of Blake's teeth. She zipped behind Ren upon hearing this, using her 'just friend' as a human shield.

"Oh please, Wrath's not stupid enough to cheat on Blake." Weiss interjected, crossing her arms over her chest as she whipped her head back, throng the hair that had been hanging over her fade out of her eyes. "Still though... I'm curious."

Varimas returned only a few minutes later, muttering quietly to himself as he made his way back over to his chair, falling into it with an audible thump as he let out a breath of air, his shoulders slumping.

"Hey, everything okay there Var?" Anduin, who up to this point had only really conversed with Ruby, asked as he looked over to the sin'dorei with confusion dancing in his eyes.

"I-... Uh, yeah but... _Okay um_... You all might want to sit down." Varimas stuttered out, clearly still in shock from whatever he had seen come through the door with Wrath.

A momemt later everyone froze as Wrath's echoing voice emanated from the hallways. Blake closed her eyes and began to focus in on the conversation as everyone watched the doorway with baited breath.

"Yes, the surprise I mentioned should be in here somewhere; sorry about the long flight." Wrath's voice came from the hallway. It was devoid of it's usual sarcastic wit, almost as if he was attempting to make a good impression on whoever he was speaking with.

"Oh that's quite alright mister-... I don't believe I caught your name?"

Blake froze. That voice... She had heard that voice before. It was clearly the voice of a female, but she other than that she just could not place the owner. A teacher from Beacon perhaps?

"Don't worry about that ma'am. Ah, it's just in here." Wrath said, finally coming within view of the doorway. His hood was clearly down, and an eager smile was etched into his features.

"Just in here? My, that's a lot of paper everywhere-..." The woman cut herself off as she walked into the room, everyone freezing when they saw her. Not out of fear or disgust. But in recognition. She looked just like...

The woman however was only focused on one person. Not on the group of people staring at her, but at the only other faunus present in the room, she could focus only on her. "Bl-... Blake?... Is that you?..."

Blake slowly brought hersekf to her feet, the others watching as she took a shaky step towards the woman who had just wandered into the room. It was only when they stood facing each other that a few gasps were heard around the room as people began to collectively realize how similar the two looked.

 _"...Mom?..."_

It was silent for almost a full ten seconds as tears began to form in the older woman's eyes, covering her mouth with her hand as she let out a small sob, her shoulders shaking like a leaf.

"...Oh my God... It _is_ you! Blake! _My little girl!"_ Both Blake and her mother threw their arms around each other in less than a second, embracing in a tight hug as the older faunus continued to weep. "Oh, you're all grown up! My little girl is all grown up! You're so beautiful!..."

" _Mom!..._ How did?-... How did you?-..." Blake's voice faded away with the rest of her composure as she broke down crying onto her mothers shoulder, her ears flat against her head. "I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry!"

" _Shhh_... It's alright... It's all going to be alright..." Blake's mother whispered as she began to softly rub Blake's back, a small smile appearing on her tear stained face as she did.

"No!... No it's not I-... _I'm_..." Blake could not lie. This had been the situation that she had been avoiding for years. Now that it was here though, there was no way she could lie. She couldn't. She wouldn't. "I was... I became something you didn't want me to be..."

"No... You became exactly what I wanted you to become." Blake's mother said as they leaned back from the hug, the elder of the two rubbing her thumb against the younger's cheek, wiping away her tears.

"What?..." Blake asked, her eyes wide, though still misty from tears that still threatened to fall.

"You became exactly what I wanted you to become..." Blake's mother saud with a warm smile, her amber eyes locked with those of her daughter. "A strong young woman with friends that she can rely on and a heart of gold."

"But I was-..."

"White Fang?... I know. Your friend told me..." Blake's mother said, cutting off the ninja. She took a deep breath before continuing. "He also told me that you were afraid I would reject you if I knew..."

"...I'm so sorry..." Blake muttered, her gaze finding the wooden floor of the cabin.

"Don't be... I don't like the White Fang... I absolutely hate them..." Blake's mother whispered, lifting Blake's chin, forcing the younger faunus to gaze at her mother, who gave her a small smile. "But I love you... Absolutely Nothing could possibly change that..."

Blake was silent for nearly a minute as she stared at her mother before a smile of her own appeared, followed by the ninja tightening the hug around her mother. "I missed you... I missed you so much!..."

"I did too dear..."

"Hey Blake... Not to interrupt, but can I borrow that rope you have?" Ruby asked as she gave Blake's shoulder a poke, causing Blake's breath to catch in her throat as her eyes snapped open. "I need to prop Crescent Rose up with something so I can put my new scope on!"

" _Rope?"_ Blake's mother asked confused as Blake pulled away from the hug, a look of panic in her gaze. Ruby had never been one for picking up social cues, especially not when she was excited about something.

"Oh... Uhh..." Blake stuttered out, glancing around the room in a panic before putting a pleading smile on her face as she looked over at Ruby. "I have no idea what you're talking about Ruby!"

"You don't remember?" Ruby asked, the look of desperation from her teammate completely flying over her head, much in the same way a rocket missed the core of the planet. "That rope you ran off to the bedrooms with yesterday-..."

"Damn it Ruby..." Wrath muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose, letting a long drawn out sigh. His ears were even drooping. Ruby's blunt nature could easily be a lovable trait. This was not one of those times.

"Rope in a _Bedroom_ young lady?!" Blake's mother asked, causing the younger faunus to let out an 'eep' before she felt her mothers hand seize one of her ears as she struggled to free herself.

"Annnd now the explanations start." Varimas exclaimed giddily as he clapped his hands together, pulling himself to his feet in a second. "Who wants hot chocolate for the show!"

 _"Ooh, ooh, I do!"_ Ruby exclaimed as her hand shot up into the air, still completely unaware of exactly what she had just done.

"You're coming with me young lady!" Blake's mother ordered as she began to drag her daughter out of the room by her ear, all while the younger woman bit her lip, attempting to draw her attention away from the stinging pain in her ear.

" _Ow! Ow! Ow! Moooommm!"_ Blake whined as she and her mother disappeared into the hallway, all while the other members of the group stayed behind, snickering at the two faunus.

 _"Merry Christmas."_ Wrath muttered rolling his eyes.

He was caught struggling in a group hug only a moment later.

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 **Like Wrath said! Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year! Thanks for reading!**


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